How to Stay Sane When the World’s on Fire (And Still Do Something About It)

The Unbreakable Mindset for a Nation on the Brink-How to Keep Your Head While Everyone Else Is Losing Theirs

How to Stay Sane When the World’s on Fire (And Still Do Something About It)

The Unbreakable Mindset for a Nation on the Brink-How to Keep Your Head While Everyone Else Is Losing Theirs

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #584: Monday, October 6th, 2025

The Most Dangerous Thing They Want You to Lose

You can survive almost anything if you keep your head.
And right now, they…the chaos-dealers…the fear-peddlers…the authoritarian marketers of madness….want one thing above all else: your composure.

Because when you lose that…you stop thinking clearly. You stop leading. You start reacting.

And reaction is the fuel that keeps tyranny burning bright.

This isn’t a lesson from psychology textbooks.
It’s the oldest battlefield truth in the world: the side that stays calm the longest wins.

The Daily Kick Story: The Pilot Who Kept His Head

During World War II…a young bomber pilot named Jack Ilfrey got hit mid-air.

Engines sputtering. Instruments dead. Half his crew screaming.

Everyone around him panicked.
Jack didn’t.

He remembered one thing his instructor drilled into him: When everything goes wrong, fly the airplane.

Not the fear. Not the chaos. Just the plane.

So, he kept his eyes on the horizon…hands steady…voice calm.
He didn’t argue. He didn’t catastrophize. He acted.

He landed that crippled bomber with no hydraulics…no visibility…no hope…and every man on board lived.

Afterward, when reporters asked how, he shrugged:

“I just flew the damn plane.”

That’s what we’re going to talk about today: how to “fly the damn plane” when your country feels like it’s spiraling toward the ground.

Part I: The New American Turbulence

Let’s be blunt.
The news cycle feels like a nervous breakdown.
One minute…it’s National Guard deployments in Portland.
Next minute, it’s another unconstitutional executive order.
Then it’s networks running propaganda while half the country…scrolls themselves into paralysis.

People tell me they’re angry. Or afraid. Or both.
They ask, “What do I even do anymore?”

And I tell them: start by taking back the only real estate the authoritarians don’t yet control….your own mind.

Because everything that happens out there…only matters if it can break you…in here.
They know that. That’s why the noise never stops.

The drama. The outrage. The feed.
Every headline is a trapdoor…designed to pull your nervous system…into panic mode.

When you’re in panic mode, you stop leading yourself.
You stop seeing options. You stop doing the one thing that changes everything: thinking.

Part II: The Weapon of “Above the Storm” Thinking

There’s a kind of thinking that lives above the noise.
You’ve done it before…when something awful hit your life…and instead of collapsing, you took a step back…breathed…and suddenly saw the whole board.

That’s what this is about: learning to rise above your first reaction.
Not to escape reality…but to see it clearly enough to deal with it powerfully.

Here’s how it works…in plain English.

Step 1: Catch the First Spark

When you feel yourself getting hijacked by emotion…the rage…the despair…the disgust…don’t fight it.

Just notice it. Name it.

It’s like catching a spark before it becomes a wildfire.
The second you notice it…you create space. And space equals power.

You can’t change what you’re fused with. But you can change what you notice.

Step 2: Step Back, Don’t Step Away

Most people either drown in their feelings or deny them.

Both are traps.

The trick is to step back from them…not away…not around…not under…but back…like you’d step away from a painting to see the whole thing instead of one dark corner.

From that vantage point…your emotions stop being tyrants and start becoming data.
Information. Feedback.

Instead of “I’m furious,” you start thinking, “Interesting. My mind’s on fire. Why? What is this anger trying to protect?”

The moment you ask that question…you go from puppet to pilot.

Step 3: Choose the Lens You’ll Look Through

When you’re calm enough to think again, ask: “What’s the most useful frame to put around this?”

For example:

• “This is proof democracy is doomed!” becomes “This is proof democracy is under attack…so my focus must sharpen.”

• “I’m helpless!” becomes “I’m one citizen…but one citizen who can call…write...fund…organize…vote…and teach others to do the same.”

Same facts.
Different lens.
Completely different life.

Step 4: Stack Better Feelings on Top

Think of emotions like a ladder.
You can’t jump from the basement to the roof in one move…but you can climb one rung at a time.

If you’re furious…layer determination on top of it.
If you’re afraid…layer curiosity.
If you’re hopeless…layer commitment.

You’re not denying the feeling. You’re directing it…giving it a leader.
That’s you.

Step 5: Make a Move

Once you’ve calmed the mental static…do something…however small…that reasserts your control.

Call your rep.
Post a fact.
Send a donation.
Walk around the block.
Take a shower.
Write one paragraph that matters.

Every small act tells your brain: I am not powerless.
Action burns off fear faster than any meditation app ever built.

Part III: Why This Works Better Than Anything Else

Because you’re not waiting for the world to calm down.
You’re taking back the only steering wheel that ever mattered: the one between your ears.

The storm outside doesn’t determine your course…your state does.
When you’re calm…your intelligence doubles. Your creativity kicks in.
You see ways to influence the future that panic would have hidden.

This is how people survive dark ages.
This is how movements outlast tyrants.
Not by blind rage or denial…but by learning how to go above the emotion without losing the fire that fuels the fight.

Part IV: The Hidden Enemy No One Talks About

Let’s be honest about something few are willing to say out loud:
You can’t fight fascism effectively if you’re fried…distracted…or emotionally shot to hell.

Tyrants want you exhausted. They need you burned out.
That’s why the chaos is never-ending…it’s not incompetence…it’s strategy.

The antidote?
Inner steadiness that borders on eerie.
A calm so disciplined it looks like defiance.
A refusal to let their madness dictate your mindset.

You don’t need to become a monk.
You just need to get practiced at spotting when your head’s getting hijacked…and pulling it back fast.

The goal isn’t numbness.
It’s useful emotion…the kind that moves mountains because it’s channeled through focus, not frenzy.

Part V: The Inner Game of Democracy

Democracy isn’t defended just with ballots or marches.
It’s defended with mental discipline.

Because if you can’t hold your state…you can’t hold your line.
And if we can’t hold our line…the bullies win without firing a shot.

Every authoritarian in history has relied on the same playbook:

1. Create chaos.

2. Trigger fear.

3. Offer “control” in exchange for freedom.

You can short-circuit that whole pattern by staying steady when others spin out.
That’s what makes you dangerous to them.
That’s what makes you…free.

Part VI: Building Your Inner Control Room

Here’s a quick exercise I’ve given to hundreds of people under pressure.
Try it for one week…and you will notice something shift.

1. Every morning, take one minute…literally 60 seconds…to ask yourself:
   “What kind of day am I going to run?”
   Not “what kind of day will I have.”
   Run. The word matters.

2. Picture the day like a control room. You’re at the panel.
   On the wall are dials: calm…focus…energy…courage…compassion…patience.
   Set them deliberately.

3. When chaos hits…and it will…pause…breathe…and remember: you’re the operator… not the equipment.

Most people live like their emotions are weather.
You’re learning they’re instruments.

Part VII: The Secret of Those Who Never Crack

Every great leader…soldier…athlete…and activist who’s ever gone the distance shares one trait:
They’ve learned how to think above their own thinking.

Not “positivity.” Not “manifestation.”
Real composure. Real command.

When the world yells…they get quieter inside.
When others react…they observe.
When others despair…they plan.

And that…that mental posture…is how they win battles people swear are unwinnable.

Part VIII: The Hard Truth About Emotional Fitness

You don’t get strong by reading about it.
You get strong by training it.

So here’s your drill:

• Every time you read a headline that spikes your blood pressure…stop.

• Take one breath longer than you normally would.

• Ask: “What’s really happening here…and what’s my move?”

• Then act on something small and real.

Repeat that for one week.
You’ll be unrecognizable in a month.
People will notice you seem calmer.
Smarter. More dangerous…in the right way.

Because calm is contagious.
And when enough of us master it, chaos stops working.

Part IX: The American Spirit…Rebooted

Remember who we come from.
Farmers who faced blizzards.
Mothers who buried sons and still got up the next morning.
Soldiers who fought tyranny with less than we have right now.

They didn’t do it because they were fearless.
They did it because they learned how to function in spite of fear.

That’s the inheritance we’re called to reclaim…not comfort…not certainty…but courage.
And courage starts in the mind.

You can’t outshout madness…but you can out-think it.
You can out-steady it.
You can outlast it.

That’s…the real rebellion.

Part X: What to Do Next (and Why It Matters)

When you master this…this higher way of thinking…you become immune to manipulation.

You stop being easy prey for outrage cycles and emotional clickbait.
You start seeing the game board clearly enough to make strategic moves that matter.

You stop reacting…and start leading.

Lead your thoughts…and you’ll lead your community.
Lead your community…and you’ll change your country.

That’s not theory. That’s power.

Part XI: Your Mental Declaration of Independence

If you want a mantra, use this:

“I will not surrender my state of mind to anyone who profits from chaos.”

Say it every morning for a week.
Write it on a sticky note.
Make it your lock screen.

Because once your emotions belong to you again…
once you can stay centered while everyone else loses their minds…
you become exactly what every democracy needs: an unbreakable citizen.

BONUS: The Quiet Place Inside the Storm

You might take a deep breath now.
Not because I told you to.
But because your body already knows….how to find…its own rhythm again…even after too much noise.

And maybe…as you breathe…you notice something interesting…
that beneath all the chaos…
beneath all the shouting…
there’s a stillness that’s always been there.
Like the deep ocean under rough waves.
Unmoved.
Unbothered.
Watching.

You’ve touched that place before.
Maybe it was a night when everything seemed lost and yet…
somewhere inside…something quiet whispered…
“You’ll get through this.”
And you did.

Now…I don’t know how quickly you’ll realize this…
that same calm that got you through back then
is still waiting for you right now.
Maybe it’s just been buried under a few layers of headlines and outrage.
But it never left.

And the funny thing is…
you don’t have to “force” yourself to be calm.
You just have to remember what it feels like to already be calm.
To return to it….like coming home after being gone too long.

Some people try to fight their thoughts.
Others try to run from them.
But you… you can simply step back and notice them.
Like watching clouds pass across the sky.
You don’t have to chase them.
You don’t have to name them.
Just know…you’re the sky…not the clouds.

And from that place…where you can watch without getting swept away…
you begin to see choices.
Maybe one small action that feels right.
Maybe a word that steadies someone else.
Maybe a moment where you just breathe,
and feel your mind come back online.

And it’s interesting, isn’t it…
how easy it becomes to stay steady
when you remember that steadiness isn’t something you create…
it’s something you return to.

Even now…as you read these words…
your mind may already be learning…or remembering…
that calm isn’t weakness.
It’s control.
It’s clarity.
It’s what the strong ones have always used to outlast the storm.

And somewhere in your mind,
a part of you is smiling quietly…
because it knows…
you’ve always had what it takes to rise above the noise.

So…take another breath.
Not a big one.
Just enough.
Because you’ve already begun.

The Confidence You Already Have

And now that you’ve begun noticing how much easier it feels to think clearly again…
you may also begin to realize that something inside you has quietly shifted.

Not later. Not someday.
But already.

Because when a person starts to understand what steadiness really feels like…
their body remembers it faster each time.
Their mind finds its way back there more easily.
And you’ve probably already noticed that, haven’t you?

That moment earlier…the one when you took a breath and the noise softened…
that’s your signal.
That’s your reminder.
And it will show up more and more often now… almost automatically.

You might wake up tomorrow
and notice you’re calmer than you expected to be.
Or open the news
and find your pulse steady when others are spinning.
Because your mind already knows what to do now.

You’ve trained it…not through effort,
but through awareness.

And you don’t have to try to remember any of this.
Because the part of you that’s always been paying attention…
is already rehearsing it for you.
Every time you breathe,
every time you pause,
every time you decide to look from above instead of from inside the chaos…
you’re reinforcing the habit.
Making it automatic.
Making it yours.

And isn’t it interesting…
how quickly confidence begins to grow
when you realize you’ve been capable all along?

You’ll use this when you read the next headline.
You’ll use this when someone tries to bait you into outrage.
You’ll use this when the world shouts “panic,”
and you whisper, “No.”

Not because you “should.”
But because you can.
And because you already are.

There’s a steadier rhythm moving through you now —
the rhythm of someone who sees clearly…
thinks deliberately…
and acts with purpose.

And as that feeling settles in deeper…
you can look around at the madness
and know…quietly…
I’ve got this.

Because you do.
And you will.
Every single day.

And with that…I say…have a great day.

Back soon,

-Jack